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How Zumba® works
There are two main reasons I hear when I ask people what type of exercise they do? The first is that they’ve done exercise before and it doesn’t work for them and the second is that, they don’t have time. After attending their first Zumba® class the most common feedback I hear is ‘I can’t believe an hour has gone so fast’. That’s because Zumba® is ‘exercise in disguise’ and based on ‘Intermittent training’ - a great solution to both of these problems.
Zumba® uses ‘Intermittent training’. Intermittent training is ‘aerobic training’ + ‘muscle fitness ‘+ ‘interval training’.
‘Aerobic training’ includes cardio and endurance training. Aerobic exercise (with oxygen) fuels the muscles for performance.
‘Muscle fitness’ includes strength, flexibility and muscular endurance. This form of training is an anaerobic exercise (without oxygen). This system draws energy from carbohydrates stored in the muscles for short bursts of activity therefore can only be performed for short periods of time. It’s byproduct, lactic acid, is responsible for that achy, burning sensation in your muscles that you feel after a good workout.
‘Interval training’ involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with a less-intense form of the original activity. It uses the body’s two energy-producing systems : the aerobic and the anaerobic. This form of cardiovascular exercise provides the opportunity for participants to increase intensity without burning themselves out in a matter of minutes and is the number one reason why participants don’t feel they’ve been working for an hour.
Although more complex that I’ve mentioned above, Zumba® Instructors use this formula when putting choreography together for their routines and by alternating the types of music styles used within their sets.
Zumba® incorporates fat-burning benefits of an aerobic workout, muscular toning benefits and interval training by varying the rhythms throughout the class. |
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